Dive Brief:
- A hearing to consider penalties for the 2014 Dan River coal ash spill has been delayed, and attorneys for Duke Energy and the Department of Environmental Quality say they are working to reach a settlement, according to the Associated Press.
- Duke has a history of negotiating down coal ash penalties; last year the utility negotiated a $7 million charge to resolve groundwater contamination charges at its Sutton power plant. DEQ had originally sought more than $25 million.
- The company has already pleaded guilty to nine misdemeanor federal violations of the Clean Water Act committed by three subsidiaries in the 2014 Dan River spill and paid $102 million in fines and penalties.
Dive Insight:
Duke continues to try and mitigate the financial impact of its coal ash issues, and the AP reports the utility is now in negotiations to reduce a proposed $6.6 million penalty. A hearing had been proposed for Monday.
Duke repaired leaks in its Dan River pipes almost 40 years ago, but independent consultants had issued warnings, ignored by the company, of potential problems since 1981. Duke also did not measure water flow and then refused video inspections in 2011 and 2012 that would have detected the corrosion, leading to the guilty plea and fines.
In July, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed a law requiring Duke Energy to clean up coal ash pits at half of its sites—though the utility will not have to excavate the waste as long as it supplies clean drinking water to residents near the ponds by 2018. The legislation is a partial resolution to a long series of clashes between the state's lawmakers and the governor's administration on how Duke Energy should deal with its coal ash ponds.
Adding to the controversy was a revelation from a state toxicologist who alleged in a deposition earlier this year that North Carolina's public health director knowingly misled residents that the water surrounding the coal ash pits was safe to drink. Duke Energy has repeatedly said that there is no evidence contaminated groundwater has reached any of the communities nearby.
